Commerce chief lauds biodiesel plan

Thursday

Aug 24, 2006 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - A planned biodiesel plant at the Port of Stockton may represent a drop in the bucket of U.S. fuel demand, but a top federal official Wednesday lauded the project as an important step in serving the nation's future energy needs.

Reed Fujii

STOCKTON - A planned biodiesel plant at the Port of Stockton may represent a drop in the bucket of U.S. fuel demand, but a top federal official Wednesday lauded the project as an important step in serving the nation's future energy needs.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, flanked by security agents and government aides, stood outside a still-empty World War II-era warehouse where Community Fuels hopes to build its facility that would convert vegetable or animal oils into a fuel that burns like petroleum diesel.

It could produce as much as 10 million gallons of biodiesel per year. That's roughly the amount of petroleum diesel currently consumed in California every day.

Changing the nation's enormous appetite for petroleum is not something that can be done with a single new facility or overnight, Gutierrez said during the midmorning tour.

"These are just first steps," he said. "Look 10 years from now, and you'll see a very different energy environment because of plants like this."

Bruce Cohen, who expects to manage the Community Fuels plant when it gets into full production next year, said he's not surprised the project and others like it have drawn such high-level attention.

"It also has the potential for a major, long-term impact on the whole economy," he said.

Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy and Republican chairman of the House Resources Committee, who hosted Gutierrez's visit, used the occasion to counter criticism that his policies overemphasize development of domestic oil and gas resources. He's long argued for opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and supported recent legislation giving state more control over offshore oil development.

Last year's energy bill, which he helped craft, contains provisions to encourage the development of alternative fuels, Pombo noted.

"Companies like this will play a bigger and bigger role in fulfilling our energy needs," he said of Community Fuels.

What the energy bill provides, he said, is tax breaks and other incentives to help them attract investors.

"The biggest hurdle that little companies like this face is the initial investment to get started."

The energy bill did have a positive impact on Community Fuels, confirmed Lisa Mortenson, the startup's chief executive.

"It was very important, not just for us, but to the industry overall," she said.

She spoke at a roundtable discussion held after the plant-site visit. There managers and owners of businesses involved in a wide variety of alternative-energy projects discussed ideas and concerns about their various approaches.

Some of those projects and approaches included ethanol production, converting construction and agricultural wastes to electricity, burning methane from animal manure to generate power, using solar panels and energy efficiency to ease spikes in power demand, fuel cells and electric cars.